The Beacon tower set to be scrapped after outcry over the 'alien phallus’

The Beacon skyscraper has been described as a “horrific alien phallus”

Plans for a 15-storey tower behind Damien Hirst’s new art gallery look set to be scrapped after locals described it as a “horrific alien phallus”.

Architect Will Alsop described the £6.6 million block, called The Beacon, as a “gateway to the emerging Vauxhall gallery district in south London”.

The proposed tower, 100 yards from Hirst’s Newport Street Gallery, would house 11 flats with a two-storey penthouse and roof terrace.

But neighbours have submitted dozens of objections to Lambeth council. They say the tower will be twice as high as surrounding properties, wrecking the area’s character and blocking views of Big Ben. They also criticised its failure to include any affordable units.

More than 100 letters have been sent to planners with residents calling the scheme a “hideous eyesore” and a “horrendous monstrosity”.

Another added: “It looks like a Fifties science fiction film where a UFO crashes into a normal street. Why not at least try and design it in keeping with its surroundings?” Margaret Hanbury, a literary agent who works in Lambeth Walk and lives nearby, said: “It’s a modernist fantasy of the worst kind.”

Another resident compared the proposals unfavourably with Hirst’s gallery, designed by Caruso St John, saying: “What does Damian Hirst have to say about all this? His new gallery on the same street was tastefully done and enhanced the neighbourhood.”

The site, previously a public lavatory, was bulldozed to make way for a five-storey block of flats six years ago.

Locals said demolishing the block after such a short time was: “unethical and shameful”.

One wrote: “The proposed development is an entirely luxury development, which includes no affordable housing at all. This is absolutely scandalous considering the acute housing shortage.”

Not all residents have opposed the scheme, submitted by Alsop’s Hackney-based practice aLL Design. Some called it a “brave vision” and “refreshing”.

Alsop said all objections had been considered, including the height. He added: “The size of a development affects the number of affordable housing units provided.

"As The Beacon is a small development of 11 homes a cash payment, presumably for public benefit, was agreed with the council planners instead. This is standard practice for a development of this size.”

Lambeth planning officers have recommended that councillors refuse permission at a meeting on Tuesday next week.